Ch.138Serial Killer. (2)

Countless sharp ice crystals were embedded in the Serial Murderer’s body. Despite having regenerative abilities comparable to demons, his current wounds were far too deep.

He couldn’t regenerate.

The Serial Murderer sensed his impending death.

Honestly, he had expected this would happen someday.

He just didn’t know it would be today.

A mocking smile appeared on the Serial Murderer’s pale face. He asked the woman who had inflicted these wounds:

“Olivia, you… planned this from the beginning?”

“…”

No answer came. The Serial Murderer laughed hollowly.

“Couldn’t you at least say ‘good job’ or something…?”

“What did you do exactly?”

“I killed when you told me to kill, destroyed when you told me to destroy. Whatever you ordered… I never questioned it, never even doubted it. I think… that’s enough, don’t you?”

“You failed to kill the Imperial Princess.”

Olivia said, looking back at the corpses of the two Dragon Lords sprawled on the ground.

“You were an excellent hunting dog. But… I simply don’t need you anymore.”

Olivia approached the gasping Serial Murderer and crouched down. She gently reached out and closed his eyelids.

“…Good job.”

A sad smile had appeared on Olivia’s face.

The Serial Murderer never saw it.

*****

In the middle of a rain-soaked alley, the Serial Murderer glared at Olivia. In her hand was a staff he had never seen in his previous life.

He was certain. No matter what treasure one might bring, nothing could compare to that staff.

‘…It’s cold.’

The Serial Murderer couldn’t help but realize it. Olivia had never revealed her full power in his previous life. Not even when she had consecutively defeated the two Dragon Lords who ruled the mountain range.

The Serial Murderer recalled what Olivia had said back then.

– You were an excellent hunting dog. But I simply don’t need you anymore.

…Still seems harsh thinking about it now. To be so ruthlessly discarded.

Anyway, that’s how he died.

In the annihilation timeline, the Serial Murderer had sided with Olivia. His role was to sabotage the defenses of the free city Machina and the western archipelagos while Olivia destroyed the Empire, the Holy Nation, and the Eastern Alliance.

He had faithfully fulfilled his role. He killed when Olivia told him to kill, destroyed when she told him to destroy.

The reason the Serial Murderer volunteered to be Olivia’s dog was simple.

Because he wanted to.

The Serial Murderer asked himself: Did he want to do the same this time?

He didn’t know.

So?

Instead of questioning himself further, the Serial Murderer concentrated his aura to create a crimson scythe.

There was no need to overthink it.

The scythe felt heavy in his hand.

For now, he would swing it.

*****

Swoosh!

The fog covering the alley suddenly turned red. The fog, now possessing physical force, flew at Olivia from all directions. The Serial Murderer hid within the fog, targeting Olivia’s blind spots.

Olivia didn’t panic, calmly manipulating her magical power. A fierce storm arose, instantly dispersing the fog. A shield shaped like ice crystals collided with the scythe imbued with crimson aura.

‘…I didn’t expect to meet this early.’

She hadn’t anticipated that the Serial Murderer would already be free from Baphomet’s control. Let alone strong enough to annihilate Baphomet.

Olivia inwardly clicked her tongue.

‘I wondered why he died so easily…’

In fact, the Serial Murderer’s eyes weren’t originally red. After being possessed by Baphomet, they gradually turned red as he assimilated with demonic energy.

Of course, this wasn’t Baphomet’s intention. Red eyes are typically exclusive to demons. No matter how vicious a black magician might be, their eye color doesn’t naturally turn red.

The Serial Murderer’s eyes changed color because of his constitution.

A constitution that absorbs surrounding energy and assimilates with it.

Without realizing it, Baphomet had been gradually losing demonic energy to the Serial Murderer.

She had thought it strange that Baphomet fell without any resistance despite her using [The Ancient Staff], but now she understood the hidden circumstances.

[Regression] must have been the variable.

Having already annihilated Baphomet once, the second time wouldn’t have been difficult.

The Serial Murderer smirked at Olivia.

“Surprised? Well, I did kill the great demon much faster than in my previous life.”

“…Kid. How do you know me when we’ve never met?”

Olivia muttered this while channeling magical power into the Ancient Staff. Though this wasn’t the situation she had anticipated, she would be fine as long as she obtained a clue.

‘Lightning is too conspicuous.’

Using cold energy seemed better. Just as cold energy began rising from Olivia’s fingertips, the Serial Murderer tilted his head and said:

“…You don’t know me?”

“Of course not. I’m seeing you for the first time today.”

“…First time?”

“When have we met before?”

“…”

The Serial Murderer seemed displeased at being called a kid, but he didn’t attack impulsively like before.

He too was feeling something off.

In the annihilation timeline, the Serial Murderer had been possessed by Baphomet for quite a long time. Therefore, his memories until just before annihilating Baphomet were fragmented, and even those that remained were mostly incomplete.

But still, he remembered that Olivia had never gone to the demon realm.

‘…And then there’s that dream I’ve been having recently…’

Unlike his previous life, he had been able to preserve quite a lot of memories in this life.

After all, in his previous life he had been forcibly controlled by Baphomet, while in this life he had deliberately pretended to be controlled.

Anyway, thanks to that, he could remember most things, including a recurring dream he’d been having for the past few days.

A dream where Olivia and an unknown witch argued, while he quietly watched.

He tried to recall if such a thing had happened in his previous life, but no matter how much he thought about it, there had been no witch with the title [The Great Witch].

Yet the memory was too vivid to dismiss as just a dream.

– …Goodbye, Olivia.

When he woke from the dream, the sensation from that moment would linger at his fingertips.

“…This is strange.”

“What is?”

Olivia asked. The Serial Murderer was deeply frowning.

“The energy flowing through your body. It’s a bit different from before. Hmm…”

The Serial Murderer could absorb demonic energy from demons, magical power from magicians, and aura from knights.

But the Olivia from his previous life and the current Olivia were somehow subtly different.

It was difficult to explain in words. Unidentifiable, you might say.

“…”

The Serial Murderer stared intently at Olivia. His Adam’s apple was twitching frantically.

His patience had reached its limit.

‘Should I stab her?’

‘If I stab her, I could tell the difference.’

‘I want to stab her.’

‘Let’s stab her.’

‘Ahhh…’

Seeing the area around the Serial Murderer growing increasingly red, Olivia raised her staff again.

Rumble!

Crimson fog rose once more around the Serial Murderer. The fog had taken the shape of a massive wolf.

He had already completely made the great demon Baphomet’s power his own.

The wolf made of blood-red fog howled like a living beast and leaped. Olivia instinctively started to shoot lightning but stopped herself.

‘…I can’t make the same mistake.’

There was no need to draw attention and risk danger.

Olivia grumbled as she gathered cold energy. The cold energy quickly formed into a spear.

With a swoosh, the spear pierced the wolf’s head. The wolf hesitated momentarily before quickly restoring its original form.

The wolf charged again, but Olivia’s gaze was no longer directed at it.

That fog wolf was just a distraction.

The real threat…

Tsk tsk tsk.

A chilling sensation rose from the nape of her neck.

A massive scythe was now pressed against Olivia’s throat.

The Serial Murderer, who had positioned himself behind Olivia, stroked her hair and exhaled a thrilling breath.

“Olivia.”

The Serial Murderer tilted his head.

“…Why didn’t you dodge?”

“Because there was no need to.”

The Serial Murderer’s eyes widened.

“You thought I couldn’t kill you… ah.”

The Serial Murderer, who was about to cut down Olivia, nodded as if understanding.

The Serial Murderer smiled brightly and asked:

“…Since when?”

His wrist was already frozen white.

Drawing upon his aura was useless. The cold had already climbed up to his shoulder in that brief moment.

Now he noticed one of Olivia’s fingers resting on the blade.

“From the beginning.”

Olivia said this as she placed her hand on the forehead of the Serial Murderer, whose upper body was half-frozen. Intense sparks flew from her hand, and a familiar message was heard.

[Regression user, you have subdued ‘Serial Murderer’ without killing him!]

[You have acquired Clue #11!]

Olivia slowly smiled.

When she opened her eyes again, quite a lot would have changed.